“You too, Wyatt?” Mika asked accusingly.
He shrugged. “I only bet on the first one.”
“First?” Her voice rose a few decibels.
“Yeah,” Lizzie said. “We were all betting on who the father was. Though that was easy to confirm, because your mom told Wyatt’s mom who told my mom. And then we started betting on when—”
“Argh, stop!” Mika put up her hands. “No more betting. We have work to do, if I may remind you.” Walking over to her chair, she threw her coat over the back and sat down. “Can we just get on with this meeting? I have so much stuff to do.”
No one argued with her, and as they began their meeting, Delacroix slipped out. There hadn’t been time to stop for breakfast this morning, so he knew she would be starving. He headed to the cafeteria and picked her up some food—oatmeal, fruits, and orange juice, but also two stacks of pancakes, a pile of bacon, an omelet with cheese and mushrooms, plus toast with butter and jam. By the time he came back with the large bag of food, the meeting had adjourned, and the four Lycans were already leaving her office.
“You have the best timing, D,” Lizzie cackled. “If you had waited another day, I would have lost the bet.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a chuckle. “Do I get some of that cash?”
“No.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Maybe if you’re good, I’ll buy you lunch.”
“Excuse me.” Wyatt jostled his shoulder as he walked past him, a snarl under his breath.
“Thanks, ma chouchoutte.” The pet name made Wyatt’s lips tighten. “It’s a date.” While he wanted to see the other man’s reaction, he didn’t want to keep Mika waiting. Casually, he strode inside. “I have breakfast.”
Her glare could have set a lesser man running in the opposing direction. “I’m not hungry.”
“Of course you are. You’re always hungry.” He set the bag down on top of her desk. “Now, eat.”
“Stop.” She got up from her chair. “This ends now.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t you want breakfast?”
“I’m not talking about the damn food!” She pushed the bag from her desk, sending it to the floor. “I’m taking about this.” Her hand waved between them. “Whatever you’re doing. I told you, last night was just sex. That’s all.”
A cold fury rose in him, and he grabbed her wrists. “Stop fooling yourself, cher.” When she tried to get out of his grasp, he only held tighter. “Mika, this may have started as sex, but it’s more than that now. You know it, you just won’t admit it.”
“I—”
“There’s been no one else but you. Not since you left. And for a while, not even before that.”
He could see the internal struggle from the expression on her face so he persisted. “Last night proved this is more than just sex. Listen to your wolf, cher.” His own wolf was all but screaming it at him. I know, she’s mine. Ours. “It knows. Knows who I am.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’m your True Mate.” Saying it out loud sounded so right to his ears.
“I …” Her shoulders sagged, her head lowering. “I hardly know you.”
He loosened his grip. “Then get to know me.” He tipped up her chin, searching the depths of her emerald green eyes. The tightness in his chest made it difficult to breathe, but his lungs refused to work as he waited for her answer.
Her lips parted, and his heart nearly stopped when she spoke. “We’re doing this backward, aren’t we?” She sighed as her gaze dropped to her belly.
He could have wept in relief. “We’re doing things our way.” Moving his hand down, he placed it over the front of her bump. To his surprise, he felt something … move? His wolf perked up, then went still. Yes, that’s our pup. Ours. It answered with a howl of happiness.
She gasped, her hands covering his. “Did you—”
“I did,” he said, in awe. Then he felt it again, the slightest bump against his palm. He then placed her hand over the same spot.
“There it is!” Her voice cracked, and her eyes became shiny with tears. “It’s really …” A sob tore from her throat. “Oh my …”
“Yes, it’s really there.”
They stood there for minutes, just holding each other and her belly. The baby kicked a couple more times before it quieted down. As she brushed the tears from her face with the back of her hand, she took a deep breath. “I need some time, Marc. Don’t rush me into anything I’m not ready for.”
“You can have all the time you need. I promise.”
“This is going too fast. I can’t keep up. I don’t know where this is supposed to go now.”
Taking her hands in his, he kissed the inside of each one. “I don’t know either, but as long as we go together, that’s all that matters.”
“Damned hormones,” she cried, as more tears streaked down her cheeks. “This is all your fault.”
A deep and genuine laugh echoed from his chest. “Whatever you say, cher.”
Chapter Thirteen
True to his word, Delacroix didn’t push her for more than she could give. There was no discussion on what “they” were now, though they continued on as they were. He was still a bully, though, when it came to her health. In the past two weeks, he prevented her from doing anything strenuous, not even lift her own bag or carry her lunch tray when they ate at the cafeteria. He also insisted she see the doctor right away, and even made an appointment with Dr. Blake for her himself.
“I can fill in my own name, thank you very much.” Grabbing the pen and clipboard away from him, she began to fill in the blanks on the patient information form as they sat on the couch in the waiting room of the medical wing at The Enclave.
He leaned over to peer down at the
